Brian Bogusevic drilled the sixth pitch of his first at-bat Friday night and nearly hit Gwinnett pitcher Manny Banuelos in the head.

It was one of the few things the Lehigh Valley outfielder has missed of late.

The first-inning single gave Bogusevic his second 11-game hitting streak of the young season.

His two-run double with one out in the bottom of the ninth gave the IronPigs their first three-game winning streak of the season with a 4-3 win over Gwinnett in front of 10,023 at Coca-Cola Park.

"You try to get something elevated," Bogusevic said, "something you can hit a fly ball on. Really just make sure you can get the runner in from third.

"I caught it pretty good. It went farther than expected."

Faces in the Crowd IronPigs vs Braves on Friday at Coca Cola Park in Allentown.

(Chris Shipley/The Morning Call)

Jordan Danks and Edgar Duran scored on Bogusevic's double to allow Lehigh Valley (9-20) to rally for the victory after blowing a 2-0 lead in the top half of the ninth.

"Tonight was huge for us from a morale standpoint," IronPigs manager Dave Brundage said. "Having had three games [earlier this season] with leads in the ninth inning that we've squandered and not won, we end up getting the comeback.

"Hopefully this does wonders for our team."

International League pitchers don't have an answer for Bogusevic, who has hits in 23 of the 25 games he's played this season.

The 31-year-old is batting .353, but has no answer for why he's been doing so well.

"It's just one of those things where you start feeling good," he said. "Honestly, I couldn't tell you."

Bogusevic, who signed as a minor league free agent in the offseason after spending time in the Marlins, Cubs and Astros organizations, has not slumped since spring training.

The left-hander hit .305 before being one of the last cuts by the Phillies. He has hovered around .300 ever since he started the IronPigs season 3 for 16.

Bogusevic, who has batted in six of the nine spots in the batting order this year, didn't wait long to swing against Gwinnett closer Aaron Kurcz.

"[Hitting coach] Sal [Rende] talks a lot about RBI situations and ending the at-bat early," Bogusevic said. "You don't want to take pitches and let him get to his secondary stuff and put you in a situation to hit something weakly or strike out."

Bogusevic's one-hop double off the wall in right-center field came on the first pitch of his first at-bat ever against Kurcz.

The 2005 first-round pick of the Astros has produced wherever Brundage has put him in the batting order.

"He's a threat on the bases," Brundage said. "He gives some speed in front of [Maikel] Franco and [Dom] Brown, so they have to pitch to him a little bit differently.

"He's putting pressure on the pitcher. I like him up there at the top of the lineup. He's fit well."

Bogusevic, who entered Friday's game tied for fifth in the league in runs (16) and eighth in on-base percentage (.418), has seven walks during his 11-game hitting streak.

Despite the success, the former Tulane University standout is constantly tweaking his approach at the plate.

"There's constant adjustments on a day-to-day basis, week-to-week, series-to-series," he said. "Not in terms of a major overhaul.

"It's based on who is pitching, how you feel on a given day. You look at your at-bats from yesterday. If I feel like I was late, the adjustment is maybe start [the swing] a little earlier."

Bogusevic simplifies what is one of the toughest things to do in sports. The ultimate goal, though, is to return to where he was for parts of 2010-13 — the majors.

Considering that Bogusevic is an above-average defensive outfielder and the hottest hitter in the system, the time seems ripe for another major league opportunity.

He said he keeps those thoughts from clouding his head and fights the daily battle to be consistent.

"I think everybody learns that quickly in baseball," he said. "As soon as you think you're going good, it all goes to crap.

"And as soon as you think you can't get a hit, you heat up."

Third time a charm: Phillippe Aumont said he wasn't feeling great physically, but he didn't let it affect him on the mound. He allowed only two hits and three walks in six scoreless innings, his longest stint since working seven for Class-A Clearwater on July 25, 2010.

"That's one thing you got to do, just go out and battle and that was the mentality," Aumont said.

"I felt like the ball was running good. If I could just throw it over the plate, guys weren't going to barrel much of it."

Brundage hopes Aumont stays that course.

"I hope he doesn't feel great the rest of the year," the manager said. "That was outstanding."